If you still haven't made plans for a Valentine's night out with your sweetheart, or if you're just looking for an affordable night of terrific music, might we suggest seeing Whitehorse at Shank Hall tonight? | Feb. 14, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

The Bel Canto Chorus and its music director Richard Hynson celebrated Hynson's 25th anniversary with the chorus Sunday afternoon by doing that thing they do - singing.

Performing at the St. Joseph Center Chapel on S. Layton Blvd., Hynson and the singers of Bel Canto chose the Rachmaninoff "All-Night Vigil" for their celebration, a 15-movement a cappella tour de force for chorus that is sung in Russian. | March 10, 2013»Read Full Article

Milwaukee has another Monday brunch option: at the Garage, 1709 N. Arlington Place, off Brady St.

The brunch, launched a few weeks ago, starts at 10 a.m. and wraps up at 3 p.m. It’s aimed at service industry workers (many of whom work Sunday brunch), but is open to anyone with no particular place to be midday on a Monday, of course. | March 10, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

As children sing Christmas carols in the gathering gloom, a man bends over his work desk, trying to ignore the sound. Asked by a neighbor for help, he first wants to ensure she can pay. Encouraged to come join his fellows, he grumpily refuses, preferring to count his safely stowed money.

I could be describing Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," but I'm actually recounting the first scene in playwright Rick Whelan's "Heaven Sent," which is receiving its Midwest premiere courtesy of www.acaciatheatre.com/">Acacia Theatre, under directors Elaine Wyler and Michael Landers. | March 10, 2013»Read Full Article

Hearing a finely honed countertenor voice singing the music of the Baroque period is like hearing moments of the past come alive.

Countertenor Terry Barber, internationally known for an exceptionally wide vocal range that ranges from high baritone to octaves usually populated by altos and mezzo-sopranos, has just the voice to make the centuries fall away. | March 10, 2013»Read Full Article

A cafe selling smoothies and on-the-go foods like protein bars will open in mid-April on the east side.

Refuge Smoothie Cafe will open at 2328 N. Farwell Ave. Owner Joshua Janis, who owns the Water St. bars Red Rock Saloon and McGillycuddy’s, said the idea for the smoothie cafe grew out of his own inclination toward more healthful foods these days. | March 10, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

Green nation

As the British were preparing to attack New York in 1776, Gen. George Washington wrote to his estate manager about what trees he wanted planted at Mount Vernon - all American natives. Author Andrea Wulf discusses Washington and the other framers of our nation from the point of view of their gardens in "Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation." She will give a lecture on the topic Thursday at 6:15 p.m. in the Lubar Auditorium of the Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Drive. Afterward, there will be a reception in the Café Calatrava. The lecture is free with museum admission ($15 for adults; $12 for students, seniors and members of the military; free for members and children under 12). The reception costs $30 and reservations are requested: call (414) 224-3293. | March 10, 2013»Read Full Article